So, I had to post a link to this film. It's free to watch. It's about the Seattle SuperSonics. Or more directly the events leading up to their departure from Seattle to OKC. No matter your opinion on it or your opinion on modern day pro sports, it's an interesting movie. Although, I'll admit the movie is somewhat biased. But, here's the trailer:
Preview from sonicsgate on Vimeo.
Full movie here: Sonicsgate.org
For me, it was frustrating as all hell to watch. I've been a Seattle sports fan since elementary school. For whatever reason, The Sonics were even more of an obsession for me, perhaps because basketball was a sport I loved to play, or because the Sonics of the early to mid 90's were so good. Either way, between those early impressions and having the opportunity to intern and then work full time at the Sonics as my first job out of college, it's really frustrating that this team and it's 41 years of history have been taken out of the Northwest.
I like what this film is trying to do, by preserving the history of the team, and by trying to make people aware of the reasons the team left. And perhaps hold someone accountable. Its pretty remarkable how so much of this was mishandled by team owners and local politicians.
As much as I miss the Sonics, I won't support the return of another NBA team to Seattle. The first reason is because, the only way Seattle will get another team is by a team moving here from another city. And as Sherman Alexie points out in the movie, why would you want to put another city's sports fans, through what Seattles' just went through? And secondly and most importantly, I refuse to support the NBA. Why would I pay to see an NBA team, when they treated Seattle fans the way they did?
I guess this is just another example how the business and politics of modern day sports has taken so much of the joy out of the games. It's tough, because I still love sports and will continue to watch them. As I talked about in my UW vs USC post, it's truly exhilarating to be at a game where something magical happens and you can enjoy it with everybody else in the stadium or arena. There has and always will be an emotional connection between fans and their teams, it just a shame that so many people are looking to take advantage of that emotional connection for financial gain. At some point, something has to give.
Thank you for posting this. You have touched on some really good points.'take advantage of that emotional connection for financial gain'. Tru dat. on team stealing, One exception would be Memphis, we would be doing Canada a solid(again b/c of Blue Jays) by getting their Vancouver grizzlies closer to home. The Sonics had 41 years of history, some of the other teams don't even come close.
ReplyDeleteBut the question remains, do the fair people of Seattle play that game. We hope this educational film gets that discussion going, come what may...